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Wooh, can't wait for the challenge! It is the end of Day 1 in my Whole30 journey, and I am already feeling the sugar cravings set in. For the past couple years I have experimented with dietary alterations ( originally around my hashimotos Hypothroidism, which has caused acne, low energy levels and other health issues) from vegan to AIP Paleo, and at this point I have come to grasp the major sources and habits of my body's discontent. My food lifestyle is 90% paleo, with exceptions here and there (college is stressful) and a wavering nightly sweet tooth which has the power to absorb all of my attention and focus it onto dark chocolate and paleo "desserts". Many times when I do indulge, I tend to get into a fix that is seemingly impossible to come out of. After feeling my energy and stress levels on a rollercoaster this year, and eating half of a pan of paleo carob brownies last weekend, I decided it was finally time to start this journey. Day one was a bit difficult; I am swarmed with work and had counted on grocery shopping that has not yet happened, but I am not too worried. My tastebuds have a reasonable amount of experience in paleo-world and I have gained resilience in tough times. I still am unsure about eating eggs, still need to get used to no rice or honey or syrup this month, and want to work on planning and time management around homework and meal-preps. I am open to any and all tips from college students doing Whole 30!!

Hi! I was wondering how people who have either eliminated their Hashi's symtpoms, or been able to reduce their synthroid dosage, were able to know that they should reduce/eliminate synthroid? Sorry if I missed a post on this already, I couldn't find one in the forum though. The reason I ask is that my doctor has directed me to continue taking my synthroid while doing my Whole30 (I'm doing it for 90 days this time though - after a by-the-book round of Whole30 earlier this year, my TSH levels doubled, so I felt like this time needed to be longer).
I agree with my doctor that it makes sense for me to continue taking my synthroid. I personally get very tired, moody, and at times depressed when my T3/T4 levels are low; it would be way more difficult to stick with an eating regime if I'm super emotional and fatigued. However, I'm wondering HOW they'll be able to test if my thyroid is functioning properly, IF 90 days of Whole30 eating helps to heal my immune system enough?
My doctor has made it clear that she will NOT recommend reducing or eliminating my dosage of synthroid without lab work to back it up (she's pretty skeptical of the Whole30 to help heal Hashimoto's. Actually, she doesn't even believe that there's any reason to diagnose Hashi's, as opposed to hypothyroidism. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's after going to see a naturopath, who ordered blood work for the antibodies. My doctor does not believe in "holistic" methods, and won't work with the naturopath ).
Have others seen their TSH levels drop right off? I'm on quite a low dosage of synthroid as it is (75mg/day) so I'm worried that my TSH levels won't lower enough to warrant a dosage decrease, even if my Thyroid starts functioning better. Have some possibly seen symptoms of hyperthyroidism that prompted a dosage change?
Or, do most people just go off of it entirely and see what happens? I'm pretty reluctant to try this myself, as I feel so terrible when my levels aren't right. One of my secret wishes is that I'll be able to live a medication free life. Trying not to get my hopes up, but I have to admit that I want it desperately. Being 24 and told you need to take daily pills for the rest of your life, and there's nothing you can do about it, SUCKS

I have quite a few complex chronic health issues: fibromyalgia (18 years), pyrrole disporder, homozygous MTHFR mutation, copper toxicity, hypothyroidism, iron deficiency anemia, IBS, high cholesterol and BP, fatty liver, numerous nutritional deficiencies like zinc and B12, life-long excema, psoriasis, and I'm atopic with multiple low-grade food allergies (including lettuce if you can believe it!), anterior bony impingement syndrome in my ankles, bursitis in my shoulder, have very tight muscles and tendons body-wide, and I'm obese. These are the issues I can remember off the top of my head. As you can imagine, that's quite a list of symptoms, most of which change for apparently no good reason (or none that I have pinned down, anyway), and which could be impacted by quite and number of environmental or bodily factors - including other conditions. EG 'fibro fog' could also be the copper toxicity or the IBS might be firbromyalgia related or the pyrrole disorder.
My hubby and I are almost finished our Whole30 and I'm not noticing a lot of changes - measurable or otherwise. I'm getting to sleep faster, but that might be largely because I've stopped my habit of eating something in bed at night (awful, I know) while I read till I start to fall asleep (helps shut my brain down). I still have IBS symptoms, but they may have improved a bit. My fibro is bad at the moment, largely due to back cramping which means some days I can't get through a shower without having to sit down. Judging from the fit of my clothes, I've lost a little bit of weight but I didn't want to get on the scales before or after, I wanted to go on how I felt. My memory sure hasn't improved!
My integrative doctor (and the one I saw when we lived elsewhere) recommended going sugar, gluten, dairy, and caffeine free and low GI and paleo seemed the easiest way to get my head around doing that. When I started paleo early 2015 I was good as gold (with paleo treats) for 6 weeks before my husband was deployed and things fell a bit to the wayside and I started snacking unhealthily again. I noticed a big improvement in that 6 weeks - for the first time in years I was able to stand up at the kitchen counter long enough to help prepare and cook meals. We fell off the paleo-bandwagon almost completely in 2016 (meals were still pretty clean, but they were the only thing that was) until we started the Whole30 program (with the additional 'rules').
My integrative doc had me on a TON of supplements, which we can no longer afford. Part of that was a Metagenics cleanse to hopefully fix gut candida and dysbiosis (may be back given what my diet has been since then). She's pro vegan and that's not a direction I want to take. So I'm just seeing her to manage my hypothyroidism till I can hopefully (medical issues notwithstanding) get a part-time job to pay for her treatment and all the supplements and prescriptions.
So, that's the background. My problem is that I'm torn about whether to extend our Whole30 or add to it by eliminating nightshades and/or other potentially problematic foods.
Anybody have any thoughts?

I'm in tears, here, so please be gentle. I know weight loss isn't the main goal of the Whole30. I know this. I have NSVs a mile long. I'm beyond thrilled with my NSVs. I've been so thrilled with my NSVs that I didn't let my lack of weight loss bring me down. But my lack of weight loss getting really old, now, and I need some ideas or suggestions. I'm was going to post anonymously (but I guess I can't) because I am a huge supporter of Whole30 and if someone were to come across this post who knows me would think I have a beef with Whole30 after all. Which I don't. I recommend it to everyone and brag about it (and all of my NSVs all the time). I know there's gotta be something I'm still doing wrong but I just can't put a finger on it. I started my first Whole30 on 9/1/14. By the end of the 30 days, I felt so amazing I never wanted it to end. (No more numbness & tingling, no more foot drop, MS symptoms, skin cleared up, mood stability, no more headaches, etc ... just to name a FEW.) So I continued with Whole30. I relaxed a smidge on Thanksgiving day and off and on through the Christmas season. I wasn't feeling awful, but I wasn't feeling quite as good. So I started up again with a strict Whole30 on 1/1/15. My husband started his first at the same time. He wasn't feeling amazing by the end of 30, so we continued ... all the way through Lent. I was lax a bit in April and then got back on strict for May & June of last year. Lax a bit for vacation in July and then back on strict Whole30 from August - Thanksgiving of 2015. Started strict again on 1/1/16 and have stayed that way for most of the year. I would say I'm 100% strict for about 80% of that time and 80% strict for the other 20%. I never go back to gluten grains in those off moments and I try really hard to steer clear of dairy, soy, and refined or artificial sweeteners always. My latest strict Whole30 has been since August 1 to date. I think the first knot I got in my stomach recently was the week the kiddos went back to school. Two of the teachers had visibly lost weight. Both of them commented that all they had done was started walking 10,000 steps a day and it really help shed the pounds. I walk 10,000 steps a day! I won't go to bed unless I have at least 10,000 steps and at least 10 floors. I actually average around 12,500. I walk everywhere. I run for about 20 minutes about three times a week. I'm a busy & active mother. I eat a perfect Whole30 MOST of the time (and often in 30+ day spurts). I'm not obsessed with the scale. I don't even own one. But between doctor's visits, I've seen that I've barely lost 10 pounds in the past two years. I haven't lost any pants sizes, either. It just doesn't make sense. I eat two or three full meals a day. I try to eat in an 8 hour window. I have about a palm-sized amount of meat and fill the rest with veggies. I don't do too many of the starchy ones. I use coconut oil, olives & avocado for fats. I rarely snack. If I do, it's an occasional Larabar or handful of nuts or an apple. I've read the books cover to cover and I tell everyone about how amazing I feel. And I DO. I'm so happy to feel so amazing. But I just can't stand still being so heavy. It brings me to tears. It's about the only thing that saddens me once in a while. I have spiritually uplifting practices. I journal. I have an amazing & supportive husband. I'm busy and have much on my plate but I'm not stressed. I just want some ideas. Is there something through all of this that I'm still missing? Do I just need to accept that I was made to be 5'5' and 175#? Any input? Any support? Any advice? I truly appreciate it!

Hi guys!! I would like to introduce myself and tell my story as quickly as possible.
On day 16 of what I thought was my Whole 30, I realized that while my diet was much cleaner, I had been consuming sneaky added sugars and dairy in some of the foods getting me through the day (I'm talking about sliced turkey containing added sugar and scrambled eggs containing milk from my local work cafe next door). It got me thinking about what else I may have eaten thinking it was Whole 30 but actually wasn't.
I want to do this right. So...tomorrow, knowing that I need to be extra alert about the ingredients in what I am buying, I am starting over with Day 1. Despite my setback, I still feel optimistic and happy that I know I can do two weeks without sugary treats and that I am out of my bread and grains reliance.
I already feel better, but I want to feel my best, so tomorrow is day 1.
I have also been living with a Hashimoto's diagnosis for about two years, so if anyone else is battling thyroid concerns, let's connect. The gluten-free aspect is amazing for thyroid patients. My two weeks of mostly-Whole 30 has helped me to feel a lot better already, but I look forward to reaping the real benefits and eating completely clean.
Let's connect! Happy Whole 30 everyone! Good luck to all of you.
-Jessica

Hello! I am in day 11 of my first whole30 and have been feeling pretty terrible the past two days (nausea, headache, achy, low energy - I can barely get out of bed!). I have not had anything off plan, and all my meals follow the recommended template. The only problem I can pinpoint is that I have consistently only been able to eat two meals a day! (Uh-oh...)
In life before whole30, I generally only ate two meals a day as well. I tend to feel too nauseous in the morning to eat and have therefore gotten used to skipping breakfast and not being hungry until about 12pm. I'm trying very hard to turn this around and eat meals 1, 2 and 3 at their proper times. I'm a little worried that I am a third of the way through my whole30 and have not been successful yet.
Do you think the fact that I have only had 2 meals per day for the first 10 days is grounds for a restart or a whole30+?
And does anyone have any recommendations for getting meal 1 in earlier in the day so that I can also fit meal 2 and 3 in before it gets too late in the evening?
(Background info: I am 22 years old, female, and have hashimoto's disease. I don't know if my hypothyroidism is part of my inability to eat in the morning, but I am hoping I can achieve 3 regular meal times per day and overall better health through my whole30 journey!)
Thank you for your help!

Anyone experience this? It seems to be worse after drinking kombucha or black tea. Is it a detox symptom?? I'm thinking about taking dandelion root to help with detox, see if it improves, at all. Also thinking of switching to yerba mate for mornings, and making my kombucha with rooibos after this batch runs out.

From a guys perspective...
I was diagnosed with Graves Disease over 14 years ago, and at the time I wish I would have learned more facts before allowing the doctors to try and fix my condition. My problems was triggered by 8 new amalgam fillings put in 6 months prior. If you want me to be honest, then I would rephrase that to say that multiple years of not going to the dentist was actually the cause. Discussions always go better when you own up to your problem right up front. :-)
After 3 treatments of RadioActive Iodine to kill my thyroid function, I have had years of adjusting meds, from Armour Thyroid (when it was actually available) to Synthyroid which I am now on 175 or 137 I forgot.
Since I started whole30, I went thru the normally stuff that is talked about on the Daily emails, but when Day 7 hit, there was this awesome serge of energy. About day 10 or 11 it started to fade and the brain fog came back. I realized from others that I might be eating too many nuts and fruits and started pulling back on Day 13. When I did, my energy kicked back up and I just cant seem to get full. A milder version of what I went thru when Graves kicked in. (I could not get over how much I was eating and was still loosing weight, and this is from a guy that in High School could eat 2 double cheese burgers, or a Large Meat Lover pizza). Also, I checked the scale this morning and my weight is going down again...
On day 14 now and feel like I need to either; eat more and go broke, or get my RX reduced. I think the later is cheaper. :-P